Chapter 6

The courtyard was quiet beneath the night sky.

Moonlight shimmered across the small stone fountain at its center, turning the water silver while the rest of the courtyard remained wrapped in darkness. Daniela walked along the stone path with her head held high and her shoulders straight. Every step carried the same silent message.

She would not be intimidated.

Charles stood just beyond the reach of the moonlight. The shadows seemed to cling to him as though they had chosen him long ago. He wasn’t moving. He wasn’t speaking. Yet his presence alone made the courtyard feel smaller, as if the air itself had grown heavier.

He looked nothing like the man she had expected.

For someone who had lived for so many years, he looked remarkably young, and somehow that only made him even more unsettling.

Daniela had never spoken to him before tonight, but she had heard enough stories to recognize the man standing in front of her. Even Josephine disliked him. Every time his scent came close, her wolf shrank back with quiet hostility.

Daniela stopped a few feet away and looked him straight in the eyes.

“I’ll make this very clear.” Her voice stayed calm even though her heart was pounding. “I will never marry you.”

A faint smile appeared on Charles’ face.

It wasn’t friendly or amused. It was the kind of smile that sent an uneasy chill down her spine.

“‘Never’ is a dangerous word, little wolf,” he said.

His voice was smooth and deep, carrying a quiet authority that seemed to demand obedience without ever asking for it. Beneath that calmness was something darker, something that felt dangerous.

“It bends,” he continued. “And eventually, it breaks.”

His golden eyes never left hers.

“In the end, it never survives.”

Daniela folded her arms across her chest.

“I don’t bend.”

Her answer came without hesitation.

“And I don’t break. I never have, and I never will.”

A quiet chuckle escaped him.

“That depends on who’s trying to break you.”

He studied her for another moment before speaking again.

“Do you know what your father promised me?”

“I don’t care.”

The words came out sharper than she intended.

“Whatever agreement the two of you made has nothing to do with me. I’m not some prize to be traded between your kingdom and his.”

“You are.”

His reply was calm enough to make it even more infuriating.

“You wear your pride like armor, Daniela, but you’re still your Alpha’s daughter. His word is law.”

His gaze remained fixed on her.

“And by his command…”

His voice dropped slightly.

“…you belong to me.”

He never raised his voice, yet he didn’t have to.

The force of his Alpha aura swept over her like an invisible tide. It pressed against her instincts, urging her to lower her head and submit.

She refused.

Anger burned through her veins, and she lifted her chin even higher.

“You’ll regret believing you understand me, Mr. Pendragon.”

Charles took a single step toward her.

Before she could stop herself, Daniela stepped back.

The movement irritated her immediately.

She hated that her body had reacted before her mind. Getting too close to him felt wrong, as though the darkness surrounding him could somehow reach out and cling to her.

“You think I underestimate you?” he asked.

“No.”

His expression barely shifted.

“I know you have fangs.”

A slow smile spread across his face again.

“But even wolves with fangs can be fitted with collars.”

Daniela clenched her jaw.

In that moment, she finally understood why Frank despised his father so much.

Most Alphas believed they were born to lead.

Charles believed everyone else existed to obey.

Frank had once told her that his father’s need for control reached into every part of his life. Standing here now, Daniela finally understood exactly what he meant.

Before she could answer, Charles’ eyes drifted downward.

His gaze settled on the pendant resting against her chest.

He didn’t say a word.

He simply looked at it, far longer than anyone else ever had.

A cold feeling crept through Daniela’s body.

Her fingers twitched.

Does he know?

Did he notice what happened during the fight with Williams?

Josephine… what do you think?

Her wolf answered with a low, uneasy growl.

Then Josephine spoke, and the fear in her voice startled Daniela more than anything Charles had said.

We have to leave, Thy.

Run.

When Charles finally looked back into her eyes, that unsettling smile returned.

“You will marry me.”

He spoke with complete certainty, as though he were commenting on tomorrow’s weather instead of deciding the rest of her life.

Without waiting for an answer, he turned and started walking away.

“I’ll see you at the altar…”

He paused briefly.

“…in two days.”

Daniela remained where she was, staring after him as he disappeared into the darkness.

Her pulse hammered in her ears.

Part of her wanted to scream.

The other part was already searching for a way out.

She had never been the type to run from a fight.

But marrying Charles Pendragon wasn’t a fight she could win.

It was something she had to escape.

***

“What?”

Frank nearly choked on his own breath.

His eyes grew so wide that Daniela almost laughed.

“You heard me.”

She stood a little straighter.

“I want to go to Westmoor with you.”

He stared at her in stunned silence for several long seconds before bursting into laughter.

“Oh, that’s good.”

He wiped at the corner of one eye.

“You… at Westmoor?”

His laughter only grew louder.

“Tommy, it’s an all-male Alpha academy. Unless you’ve suddenly grown something you forgot to tell me…”

His eyes deliberately drifted toward the front of her pants.

“…there’s absolutely no way…”

“I’m serious.”

The firmness in her voice erased the smile from his face.

“It’s the only way I’ll escape this marriage.”

His laughter died instantly.

Frank searched her face, looking for any sign that she was joking.

He found none.

“Tommy…”

His voice softened.

“You can’t honestly mean this.”

He rubbed the back of his neck and sighed.

“Do you even know what Westmoor is? That place doesn’t just train people. It tears them apart.”

He shook his head.

“And if your father finds you… or worse, mine…”

“That’s exactly why it’ll work.”

Daniela stepped closer.

“If I stay here, I’m finished.”

Her hands tightened into fists.

“I won’t be able to stop this wedding.”

She met his eyes without looking away.

“Westmoor is my only chance.”

Frank dragged both hands down his face before letting out a long, frustrated groan.

“The academy isn’t some magical hiding place.”

He sighed again, the worry clear in his voice.

“It’s brutal.”